


Zero’s Knight of The Night

by EdgarLee



Category: Code Geass
Genre: Angst, Bittersweet, Fluff, Howls moving castle theme song, M/M, Oneshot, they waltz to howls moving castle, waltz
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-21
Updated: 2020-09-21
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:14:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26577379
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EdgarLee/pseuds/EdgarLee
Summary: Everything was pointing towards the truth, he just didn’t want to admit it. So, as he usually does, Suzaku decided to live in denial for just a moment longer. And if he melted into the man’s touch, knowing it was his childhood best friend, then he would blatantly deny it. For now, he soaked up the moment of dancing with the masked Zero.Basically the one shot about if Lelouch won against Schniezal in the chess match and won Suzaku for the night.
Relationships: Kururugi Suzaku/Lelouch Lamperouge | Lelouch vi Britannia
Comments: 2
Kudos: 42





	Zero’s Knight of The Night

**Author's Note:**

> A little one shot in between writing fics because I’m obsessed with their angst and this scene I imagined was too much for me not to write.

The air was warm from the bodies occupying the small reservoir, and tense from the anticipation of the game on the board. Schniezal, a son of the emperor of Britannia vs Zero, a terrorist and leader of the black knights—a rebellion of the Japanese and those who fought with the Japanese. However, what those around them didn't know, was that Zero was in fact, not Japanese at all.He was instead Lelouch Vi Britannia, Schniezal's younger brother.

The blonde Britannian moved his king to the most vulnerable spot on the board and the whole room collectively gasped. All Lelouch had to do was take his king and he'd win but, could it really be that simple? Suzaku's ownership was on the line, however, Zero's identity was also on the line. He couldn't afford any mistakes.

No that's what Schniezal wants him to do. He's testing him, that Lelouch was certain of. Lelouch vi Britannia would retreat and never win from something like this because of his pride however, the terrorist Zero, he will do whatever he must to win. That is why, Lelouch, will play to his role that he had created, the role that will destroy Britannia, and he will win.

Schniezal only blinks when Zero calls checkmate and the entire room goes still. Suddenly, whispering breaks out between guests and Suzaku's glare hardens. Then, a smile gradually draws onto Schniezal's lips.

"How unpredictable Zero, I thought you were a man of pride." Lelouch smirks behind his mask, just as he'd predicted.

"I am a man of strategy, and a man who will do what he must in order to protect his people and achieve his goals." Zero says with a flourish of his hand, "Are you not yourself, Schneizel?" His tone is pointed and the blonde's expression is deadpan however, Lelouch knows better than to think he's unaffected. "After all, you sacrificed your King for intel, did you not? Is that how you view your own people?" Schniezal glares but relaxes his face to a calm smirk.

"Zero, was this not simply a game of chess? Because I'm certain if it were a metaphor between our own leadership, you would not be the one on the high ground. Our differences are not equal after all," Zero appears unbothered but Lelouch is sneering and he is tempted to shoot the man with the gun in his breast pocket, but when he looks at his childhood friend who's been glaring at him all night, he calms himself and ignores the man's useless taunts.

"You may be right about something after all, my intellect is far superior after all, I'd have to dumb myself down for it to be a fair fight I'm afraid." The whole room gasps and Kallen is gaping. Even Kaguya is shocked but she looks more proud if anything. Some of the black knights are trying to hold back laughter and so is Gino from the knight of seven. Zero glances at Suzaku from behind his mask and sees the man's the expression has not changed. Lelouch ignores the pang in his chest, he can hardly remember the last time Suzaku smiled, especially around him, though he can't expect Suzaku to smile at Zero.

"You are full of jokes tonight I see, however you did win and I'm not a sore loser. Kururugi," Suzaku stands at attention and Lelouch almost laughs at the surprised look on his face. "You shall accompany Zero for the rest of the night, you may return in the morning when he deems himself satisfied."

"Your highness," Schniezal looks at Suzaku and the knight instantly nods with a hand to his chest, "yes, your highness." Lelouch wants to gag, or maybe strangle Schniezal. His brother doesn't deserve his friend's loyalty. If he could, he would order Suzaku to slit his throat, though he's sure the man would end up cutting Lelouch's instead. Suzaku has always been fiercely loyal to Britannia and when he was younger he wondered why, but now he knows, Suzaku is only fiercely loyal to his own agenda. As long as his agenda aligns with another leader’s ideals, he will serve them no matter what. It's something easily exploitable, but with Suzaku, he's not someone you want to exploit unless you plan on a short life.

Suzaku walks over to Zero's side, eyeing Kallen as he passes her, and stands at attention. Lelouch is certain he's humiliated but he can't bother himself to care, he looks better at his side then his brother's.

"Alright then! Let's have a party shall we?" Schniezal says with a flourish as he stands and the room bursts back to life. Other guests keep throwing glances to Zero and his new knight of the night but he pays them no mind.

Zero and Suzaku are standing by the wall as the black knights and other guests fill the room with laughter and pleasantries. Kallen is nearby and keeps throwing glances among the others but Lelouch isn't certain if it's to him or Suzaku, perhaps both.

"So, Zero, why did you make such a deal with Schniezal," Lelouch sighs internally, he knew Suzaku wouldn't go long without questioning him.

"Are you trying to use your time wisely to weasel information out of me?" Suzaku doesn't falter.

"If I were?" He asks.

"Then maybe I'd lie," Zero retorts.

Suzaku's glare comes back and under his breath he huffs, "Don't you always already," Lelouch knows he wasn't meant to hear it but he does and he ignores how it makes him feel.

"How about a dance Sir Kururugi," the man looks shocked and almost flustered.

"W-what?" He stutters. Lelouch grins.

"You heard me, Suzaku Kururugi, I, Zero, order you to dance with me, the waltz has just started." Suzaku eyes Zero's outstretched hand, as if it's the beginning to some evil plan. Lelouch doesn't blame his apprehension.

"I'm assuming I don't have a choice," he says with a resigned sigh and puts his hand into the others waiting one.

"You are my knight for the night, sir Kururugi," Suzaku flinches at the statement but Zero only tugs the man over to the center of the room's makeshift ballroom of the night. He ignores the stares and gasps as they make their way through.

Once in a good spot, Zero turns to Suzaku. The knight looks nervous and is looking at everywhere but Zero. Lelouch wonders if he truly is just distraught to be dancing with his enemy but then he makes another conclusion.

"You don't know how to waltz, do you." It's not a question and Suzaku sputters.

"What? I- well, there's no reason for a dancing knight," Lelouch frowns, he knew he'd say that.

"There's no reason to not teach a figure of the royal family how to dance, should the situation arise, either. What if you were asked to dance with a political figure only to embarrass your master by not knowing how?" Suzaku looked ashamed and Lelouch backtracked. He didn't want to make Suzaku feel anymore humiliated then he already did, he had just been trying to state his opinion that it's ludicrous for no one to teach Suzaku about something as simple as dancing, and for the man to use "because I'm a knight" as his excuse. But he'd also been trying to stay in character as Zero. He would be getting no where with this conversation. "Then I suppose I have no choice,"

Suzaku looked up and was about to question what he meant when he felt a gloved hand on his back and another taking his hand. Green eyes widened and tan cheeks flushed.

"What are you-" he rushed.

"I'm teaching you how to waltz," Zero replied with a monotone voice and Suzaku didn't know how to comprehend such an action. He was already in a weird situation as Zero's knight of the night but, to waltz with the terrorist? This was absolutely ridiculous! Not to mention, this terrorist was probably his childhood friend, Lelouch. Even though reports claim he still is missing his memories, Suzaku senses something isn’t what it seems. What would Schniezal and the rest of the knights think?

Suzaku glanced around and noticed Schniezal and his counterparts already watching—Gino however looked excited, like he was happy for Suzaku and Anya looked bored, as if she didn't care. From the wall, Kallen is sending confused stares, even Schniezal looked like he was giving him his condolences and congratulations at the same time—and he felt guilt wash over him. He was dancing with the enemy! Well not really, they hadn't started moving yet.

"Suzaku," a deep voice said with a resolute command. the green eyed knight's eyes flew up to the masked man who'd just said his first name. "I know you must feel conflicted, this is quite the situation, however, I assure you dancing with a terrorist that is holding you against your will will not tarnish your reputation as a knight. I'm forcing you to dance with me after all so I suggest you stop worrying and instead heed my command." Suzaku gulped.

Had the man been calling his name to get his attention? Was that why he called him by his first name? No matter, he couldn't ignore a command by Zero, for that night at least.

Suzaku nodded and put his hand on the man's shoulder. Wait was he playing the girl's part? He was certain Zero was smirking at him and he had to physically hold back a glare from rising to his face. He settled for a scowl but soon turned his eyes to look at a spot beside Zero’s mask, he didn’t like looking at his own reflection but, he also didn’t like to remember that day he saw who was behind it. He didn’t want it to be true, and he hopes it still isn’t but, he can’t afford to be naive, if he needs to know he will. He can only hope that this Zero isn’t the same from before. He’d rather be dancing with a stranger than his childhood friend who betrayed him and everyone close to him in favor of destroying the world.

The music changes and Suzaku’s eyes widen, he recognizes the new song that plays. It was the theme to a Japanese movie he’d watched with Lelouch and Nunnally when they’re were kids. He didn’t want to think of a scenario that it could be Lelouch he’s dancing with and Lelouch who picked this song to be played. So with a frown, he pointedly ignores Zero’s face—mask—and imagines it’s a stranger twirling him around the room with a strange ease. Lelouch could never be this athletic even if it is dancing and that thought calmed Suzaku.

Zero’s hand moved on his back and Suzaku glared at the masked man.

“I was wondering if you were planning to stare at the wall the whole time,” Zero voiced and Suzaku could only frown.

“And if I were?” He challenged.

“It must be a beautiful wall,” Suzaku didn’t know if the man was joking or not and he was sure his expression was akin to a confused fish because Zero started to laugh.

“You’re always so serious Sir Kururugi,” Suzaku rolled his eyes.

“And you’re a lot more comedic than I anticipated,” he’d never imagine the terrorist to act like this, though he didn’t spend much time imagining the terrorist in conversation.

“You can’t change the world with a glare Kururugi, or else the world will think you’re hostile, and you can’t change the world with hostility as your weapon.” Suzaku wondered if the man had a poetry book or just liked to hear himself talk. He always seemed to have a quote for the situation and as much as it bothered him it also amused him, it was so Lelouch. He quickly snubbed that train of thought.

“What was your intention with claiming me as a prize,” he couldn’t get it out of his head, what intentions did Zero have with him?

“This again I see,”

“Can you really blame me for being curious?”

“Curious? No I cannot blame you, though you’re more apprehensive if anything, not that I can blame you for that either.” The man said, “but what do you expect to hear from me as an answer? My battle plans? Maybe a sarcastic comment? Or perhaps an innuendo,” Suzaku blinked, confused and shocked.

“An innuendo?” He parroted.

“Perhaps my real use for you has yet to come Sir Kururugi, after all every person has needs, terrorist or not, and you aren’t a bad prospect. Who wouldn’t want to get intimate with a Knight of Seven?” Suzaku blushed.

“What? Was this whole thing just to get me in bed?” Suzaku couldn’t believe it, wouldn’t believe it. But, if that was true then maybe he’d be able to see Zero without the mask, or would it stay on? He didn’t want to think about that anymore. Zero’s laughter thankfully tugged Suzaku out of his mind.

“Your face is priceless, to be honest I was joking but I’m never opposed to an offer,” Suzaku glared and bit down the redness on his face.

“Absolutely not.”

The man chuckled, “I suppose not then,”

Suzaku huffed and looked away. Wait, he’d just successfully gotten Suzaku to not question him further on his intentions. Damn, the man was good. If this wasn’t Lelouch then he fears the prospect that there could be other people with his mental abilities out there.

The two spin softly and their steps start to enter the box sequence until Suzaku steps on Zero’s foot, hard. The man hisses and Suzaku immediately steps back. He hadn’t meant to do that but he decides to play it off as if it was on purpose, hopefully it’ll get the point across that he doesn’t want to be here. Doesn’t want to be here in Zero’s arms, dancing to a nostalgic waltz theme while his military friends are acting as if this is normal.

But suddenly Zero is holding him closer and saying "Be careful, tripping here could cost someone there life, hold onto me so you don't bump into anyone." Suzaku hears the deep voice near his ear and he wants to cry. It sounds just like Lelouch but he doesn't want to admit it's him. He can't. This whole scenario is so Lelouch that it makes him want to break down and sob. He knew it, he just didn’t want to admit it. He knew it the whole time, from the moment Zero re-emerged to the start of their childhood theme playing from the Chinese orchestra. He’d known it all along, he’d known when the boy had put his slender gloved hand on the small of his back, he’d known when he’d spinned him like dancing was second nature, he’d known when he’d laughed—he could feel the reverberation through the hand on his back and his own on his shoulder—it sounded just like Lelouch.

Everything was pointing towards the truth, he just didn’t want to admit it. So, as he usually does, Suzaku decided to live in denial for just a moment longer. And if he melted into the man’s touch, knowing it was his childhood best friend, then he would blatantly deny it. For now, he soaked up the moment of dancing with the masked Zero.

Their waltz ended minutes later and Zero had disappeared from his sight. It wasn’t until later that night on the balcony when the party had been over for a long while, that Suzaku found him once again.

"I know it's you, Lelouch." His voice spoke into the darkness of the balcony. Zero only continues to look at the sky but soon, lowers his head and turns to look back at Suzaku.

"It's getting late," the stars are vibrant and the moon is the only thing brighter.

"How long are you going to do this for, what was your reasoning for that chess game, why am I still here?" Zero turns back to look at the sky, Ignoring the man’s question.

"There are so many stars, it's impossible to name every single one from memory right? But if you choose a favorite, chances are you'll remember that star forever."

"What? What are you talking about? Stop playing around lelouch." Zero sighs and takes off his mask. Raven locks fall out and he shakes his head just a little to make them all fall evenly. Violet eyes open slowly and Suzaku flinches when he finally sees Lelouch but he doesn't know why. He knew it was him. This wasn't the first time he's seen Lelouch behind the mask of Zero but, all he can say is, "why?"

"You'll have to be more specific Suzaku," Lelouch’s voice doesn’t carry through the night but Suzaku can hear him perfectly.

"Why are you doing this?" He doesn’t like the sound of his own voice, it sounds scared. Scared of what? Scared of a response, any response, doesn’t matter what. He just doesn’t want to know.

"Being zero? Creating the United federations? Or do you mean killing euphy," Suzaku doesn't flinch and he prides himself on if.

"You don't need to bring her into this, I want to know why you're still Zero. You were given the chance to choose a normal life again." It doesn’t make any sense to him.

"I was forced into a life without Nunnally Suzaku.” Lelouch’s voice is growing emotional and Suzaku doesn’t know what to do with this information, “That's not a life worth living but you wouldn’t understand. After all abandoning your friends is something you've become used to." Suzaku feels hurt but he doesn't get a chance to defend himself, "I didn't come here to fight with you," Lelouch breathes, he sounds resigned and tired.

"Then what did you come here for?" Suzaku asks.

Violet eyes turn to his own when he speaks,"To say goodbye," Suzaku’s eyes widen at the expression on the man’s face.

"What do you mean?" His voice sounds different even to his own ears.

"I never got the chance to say goodbye before you turned me into my father. So I wanted to do it now. We'll probably never get the chance to talk like this again let alone be anything but enemies," Suzaku wants to cry.

"You could stop this and we wouldn't have to be enemies," he knows he sounds desperate but he doesn’t want to lose his friend.

"You know I can't do that Suzaku.” He knows, but he doesn’t want to acknowledge it, “I've spilt too much blood not to follow through with my plan. I started this and I will finish it, for Nunnally." It sounds selfish, Suzaku thinks Lelouch is doing it on purpose.

"You don't even know if she wants this, she's viceroy already there's no point-" he doesn’t get to finish.

"You don't get it Suzaku, they'll use her as a spokesperson but she holds no power!” Suzaku flinches at the anger in Lelouch’s eyes but a part of him knows it’s not directed at him, “She's been forced into a cruel world from birth and blessed to be blind of it but now she's been thrown into the middle of the ugliness and will be tainted. I won't let anyone hurt her or destroy the peaceful world she so desires." It’s silent when he finishes.

"There are so many things I could say Lelouch," Suzaku says, finally. He knows, but he won't. Lelouch remains quiet as Suzaku walks up to him. He doesn't flinch when Suzaku hold his cheek with his hand. And he doesn't reject Suzaku when he kisses him either.

"Goodbye," it's a whisper as the knight leaves the dark balcony with everything he loved. The only one left, that kept him human. He hopes there will be a day that they won't see each other as enemies but he knows such a day will never come unless god cried out and commanded it himself.


End file.
